by Gregg Krech
A central theme in my relationship with my father was cars. It started, of course, further back than I can remember. Being driven around as a young child – to family gatherings and on errands and to doctors and restaurants. I didn’t get very far as a child without wheels and those wheels were paid for and often driven by my dad. At sixteen I obstinately decided that I was going to have my own wheels – no more sharing with my parents. I had saved some money and found a 1967 Mercury Cougar that was “cool” looking. It would have been a great car judged on looks alone, but its ability to get me from one place to another was severely hampered by a dysfunctional engine. Twice I blew a head gasket (major engine problem) while going with my girlfriend on an out-of-town excursion. Each time my dad showed up with his own car and a rented tow-bar to pull me home. Both rescue trips required about 2-3 hours travel one way. And after each break down my dad arranged for the mechanic at work to repair the engine at minimal cost.
When I graduated high school my dad bought me a used Toyota Corolla as a gift. That got me through many of my college years and when I moved to Washington, D.C., my dad offered a sizable down payment on a brand new Celica.
Once I was young, single and working you would expect the car legacy to end, but it didn’t. When I was twenty-five I had major knee surgery and my full leg cast couldn’t deal with the clutch in my manual shift Celica. My dad drove his own Buick all the way to Virginia and traded cars with me for six months. When my knee heeled, he drove the Celica to Cleveland from Chicago. I was visiting my girlfriend’s parents in Pittsburgh, so it was an easy drive to meet him there and reclaim my sporty car again. After ten years my Celica was ready for retirement. My eye caught sight of a car just recently introduced in the U.S. – the Acura (made by Honda). I bought a new Acura Integra and my dad again came up with the down payment that made it possible.
In 1992 I moved to Vermont and got married. My Acura was still healthy, but my wife owned a ailing Toyota corolla that wasn’t going to survive New England winters and dirt roads in the Vermont hills. I found a used all-wheel drive Subaru near my old home in Virginia. My dad lent us the money and we traded the corolla to a local service station for a good pair of snow tires. We paid my dad back just in time to get a new loan from him on a new Subaru in 1995. We were now a two-Subaru family.
By the time we were adopting our first daughter it was time to retire the older Subaru and get something “safe” for our child to ride in. My dad and I agreed that a used Volvo was the way to go. He spotted a 1992 Volvo Station Wagon in a parking lot at a train station in Chicago. He had it inspected, negotiated the sale, arranged for some minor repairs, and then drove it from Chicago to Vermont and delivered it to our home about 9 days after we returned from China with our baby daughter. The car came with another personal loan and the Van that followed (with our second child) came with a down payment from him.
I acquired my driver’s license on my 16th birthday and ever since my dad has made the transition to the next car just a bit easier. Whether it was a down payment, a loan or door to door delivery I can’t look at, or look back at, a single vehicle that doesn’t somehow bear his stamp of generosity. Oh – and I almost forgot – he also taught me how to drive.
Thanks Dad.
Love,
Gregg
Comments (1)
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There is a true art to producing unique designs in contemporary jewellery and you can be sure to find a style that suits you. Most importantly you can be comforted in the knowledge that a piece has been handmade by someone locally who has focused their creative thought, care and attention on working out detail and often handmade jewellery pieces are sold as unique one-off or limited edition items or indeed works of art.
Compare handmade jewellery to mass produced designer jewellery or disposable jewellery that can be found on every higher street corner and you will certainly feel and see the difference. Handmade jewellery will allows command attention, it often inspires those who appreciate luxury products. Handmade jewellery may often feature gemstones, also known as affordable luxuries, as small designers can't command the same price for their jewellery that large design houses do, so it is certainly a worthwhile investment purchasing from small independent jewellery designer/maker.
Gemstones are so under rated in terms of jewellery and are often over looked by large end retailers and purchasers who prefer plain precious metals of silver or gold simply for versatility. Gemstone jewellery holds such intrigue and fascination yet only a small amount of jewellery designers choose to incorporate them. Perhaps it's just a question of versality, but there's so much to a gemstone that makes them a great alternative as an invest particularly in handmade jewelelry that will stand the test of fashion and time.
Whilst it's fair to say that Fine jewellery signifies hefty price tags, gemstones don't often fall into the category of good jewellery. Good Jewellery is termed by old fashion design houses who have been making golf-ball sized Harry Winston style bling for decades. But there is an in-between which rarely basks in the limelight and doesn't really fall into any category other than gemstones or semi-precious gemstones usually found in handmade jewellery that can offer exclusivity and also the unique/luxury tag that fine jewellery offers, but without the price.
Gemstones offer such a magnificent array of colours in just as many price groups that it seems bizarre the uber trendy designers don't seem to utilise coloured gemstones more often in design. And it is clear that there are few jewellery designers willing to take risks with colour, as with risk comes expense, so often lean towards the industry stand gemstones of yester-year and most pricey stones such as White Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire & Emeralds (all these are mostly treated), although we are seeing a little more Tourmaline entering the market.
It's fair to say that some gemstones have shown impressive increases in value, by up to 30% in recent years, proving they're investment worth, such as Tanzanite, Aquamarine, Spinel, Garnet and Imperial Topaz often found in handmade jewellery. Not to mention the endless and amazing new colours flooding the gem market of Corundum Quartz, the new one to watch, that designers are completely spoilt for alternative.
Posted by braicigma | October 27, 2010 5:27 PM
Posted on October 27, 2010 17:27